(CA) Economic impact of marijuana legalization subject of presentation
Jennifer Budwig is a member of the Redwood Regional Economic Development Committee, the McLean Foundation board and the Fortuna Sunrise Rotary Club. She joined Redwood Capital Bank in mid-2006, following more than a decade with Umpqua Bank and four years at US Bank and graduated with honors in 2011 from the Pacific Coast Banking School.
Budwig was the guest speaker at last week's Garberville Rotary Club meeting at the Healy Senior Center in Redway. Her presentation examined the potential economic impact if marijuana were legalized, generating a major increase in supply and greatly reduced prices. The probability of legalization appears to be rising, she noted, and if it leads to mass production, profits to local producers might plummet.
Budwig's research confirms that marijuana has increasingly filled the economic gap in Humboldt County left by the steep decline in the timber and fishing industries. The scope and scale of the county's underground economy are powerful enough to affect “all local businesses and individuals,” she said. Once again the county finds itself overly dependent on a single resource, continuing an historical pattern that has stunted the county's economic diversification and imperiled its environment for decades.
In her research, Budwig estimates the annual gross dollar impact of county-grown marijuana, how much of the money is spent in the county and how much it contributes to the county's economy relative to the amount exported from it.
She also analyzed other variables believed likely to influence the short- and long-term impacts on Humboldt County if legalization transpires.
http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_23875645/economic-impact-marijuana-legalization-subject-presentation?source=most_viewed
Budwig said that 10 years ago Humboldt-grown marijuana brought around $4,500 to $5,000 a pound; five years ago it brought $3,500 to $4,000, and currently the price is anywhere from $1,500 a pound down to $800. She estimates that legalization will drop it down to about $300 to $400 a pound.
Although accurate figures are hard to come by, Budwig said it costs anywhere from $70 a pound to $400 a pound to grow depending on the site and other mitigating factors, with profits running as high as 506%.
Her research shows that there were approximately 800,000 plants grown in Humboldt County in 2010. The gross income from the indoor crops was $168,000,000 with outdoor at around $864,000,000 with a combined total of $1,032,000,000.
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